Transport allows millions of Australians to move every day. It connects people to their communities, places of work and healthcare providers, and is vital to the economy. In today’s world, transport is a fundamental right that without which would be inconceivable.
As technology continues to make the world more accessible, for the 4.4 million people in Australia living with disability, there are many enduring challenges associated with leaving their home, taking public transport, and using private transport.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, in Australia, 26 per cent of people with disability aged 5 and over who leave their place of residence cannot walk 200 metres. More than 42 per cent of people in the same age group cannot walk up or down stairs without a handrail. And 24 per cent of people with disability, aged 16 and over, need assistance with private transport.
Accessible transport options, mobility aid and assistance are critical in helping people with mobility challenges get around.
The role of technology
With the emergence of new technologies, it’s important to reflect on how these technologies can further improve mobility for Australians with disability. Ongoing innovation in driver technology is one example. Apps such as Wheelmate tell disabled drivers where the nearest disabled parking spaces are located. More broadly, the emergence of a new class of Connected and Automated vehicles promises to make public transport more accessible including autonomous shuttles at airports and driverless taxis – specifically designed to provide easy access and standardised processes and controls for all passengers.
In addition, we believe Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) will play a fundamental role in making transport more accessible to everyone.
MaaS is an end-to-end mobility platform that combines all modes of transport with real-time data to deliver unique multi modal trip chains for the user. MaaS enables a user to plan, book and pay for their journey using a single application. The MaaS ecosystem incorporates modern private and public transport services and features and continues to adapt to meet new transport behaviours and trends.
As governments, OEMs and businesses seek to deliver an inclusive transport experience that caters to everyone, MaaS offers a futureproofed solution to meet the broadest range of accessibility needs.
The private vehicle
The private motor vehicle has been made into somewhat of an enemy of the mobility movement, rather than a complementary option that offers greater accessibility, comfort or independence.
The car plays a critical role in the lives of many people with disability, helping them travel from A to B with confidence, convenience, and greater independence. To make transport accessible to everyone, MaaS needs to effectively incorporate the private vehicle into a journey.
Intelematics sees future success of MaaS and similar services being highly dependent on complete mobility ecosystems. Put simply, this system needs to make all transport options available to all users – including the car, public transport, micromobility, and active transport options. What is important is that one doesn’t exclude the other.
Personalised journeys
Omniway, Intelematics’ MaaS platform, is equipped with features to enable better journey planning for drivers, with road categorisation, parking and fuel. These tools provide greater confidence and convenience to drivers.
What makes Omniway unique, is that it allows journey planning to be personalised to the user and can utilise multiple data points based on user preference.
One of the first applications of personalised journey planning is cycling, in the form of the ridePlan app, which has been adopted by eBike company Lug+Carrie. Our work in this area has shown us the potential MaaS applications have to help improve mobility for everyone.
For a cyclist using the ridePlan app, this translates to helping them shape their journey based on how confident they are on a bike, the terrain they prefer, how quickly they need to be at their destination, and the amount of traffic they are comfortable with.
For a wheelchair user, this might translate into helping users plan routes with appropriate wheelchair access or identify wheelchair friendly footpaths. Similarly, for people with mobility challenges that may lack the confidence to use public transport, Omniway could be tailored to support private vehicle use. Future MaaS modules could help users identify disabled parking spaces, facilities with ramps, or equipment to help transfer drivers or passenger to or from a vehicle. Such capabilities require up-to-date data on infrastructure and services, to help make MaaS applications more useful to everyone.
The key to success
Trials of new technologies to support people with disability have proven successful to date. They include companies like Toyota exploring the role of autonomous cars to improve mobility, the uptake of Uber’s Access services, and new areas including crowdedness routing trials for people on the autistic spectrum.
When considering the accessibility of transport journeys, there is still much to be done and private and public modes of transport will be key to delivering a decent experience for everyone.
The successful development and deployment of new platforms and applications relies on data. The more we can focus on the needs of each user, the more useful and impactful this technology will be.
At Intelematics, we are looking for new partnerships where we can help communities, governments and individuals realise the power and potential of Omniway. Our technology is only limited by the data available to us, but unlimited in its applications. As data becomes more readily available, MaaS can incorporate features and services to assist individuals with mobility challenges.
We build the very best in mobility technology to improve how the world gets around. From mobility for individuals to game-changing tools for business and governments – our best-in-class data and services are recognised by industry leading brands the world over.
